Dh50,000 keeps bus driver in Dubai prison

Was jailed after bus hit power pole and caused death of passenger

By

Staff

PublishedSunday, July 15, 2012

A 27-year-old Egyptian bus driver has been kept in jail in Dubai until he pays Dh50,000 to complete diya (blood money) ordered by court following the death of an Asian passenger in an accident, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

Hussam Al Sayed is now nearly three months past his three-month jail term as he has been unable to pay diya, which was set at Dh200,000, of which Dh150,000 was paid by the insurance company.

Hussam said the accident took place on Sheikh Zayed road in Dubai a few months ago, when the company bus rammed into a power pole because of a tyre blast. He said he was driving at 50 k ph and that one Asian passenger sitting at the back seat suffered from serious injuries and died in hospital 20 days later. The other passengers suffered from light injuries.

“I am still in jail three months after I served my prison terms…the accident had a bad psychological effect on me…what aggravates the situation is that I am the sole supporter of the family,” he told Emirat Alyoum newspaper.

“I pray to God that I receive help from benevolent people and from the Interior Ministry’s Al Faraj Fund, which had helped other prisoners.”

Hussam said he could not afford paying that sum as his salary was only Dh1,800, of which he was sending Dh1,000 to his family in Egypt every month.